The plants 630,000 metric tons per year Group II/III base oil production capacity makes it the largest such facility in Europe. Other plants in Europe capable of producing Group III base oil – ExxonMobils plants in the United Kingdom and France, Totals Gonfreville plant in France, Lukoils Volgograd plant in Russia and Rafinerija ulja Modricas facility in Bosnia and Herzegovina – are all significantly smaller in capacity compared to the Cartagena plant. Nestes Porvoo, Finland, plant has capacity to produce 250,000 t/y of Group III base oils.

Ilbocs 250 million project has one lube train with dewaxing, vacuum and hydrogen compressor units that use SKLs UCO technology. It can deliver 3-centiStoke, as well as 4-, 6-, and 8-cSt cuts. The plants maximum output is about 186,000 t/y of Group II heavy base oil and 450,000 t/y of Group III base oils. This plant closes the circle in our production portfolio. As of now, we are the only company in Europe that can simultaneously offer Group I, Group II and Group III base oils, which gives us a great competitive advantage, said Ignacio Covian Sanchez, Repsols commercial manager, lubricants and specialties division, at an ACI conference in Alicante, Spain, in September.

In Cartagena, Repsol also operates a 130,000 t/y Group I base oil plant. The company is investing in current Group I base oil production at its 110,000 t/y base oil plant at its refinery in Puertollano, Spain. After the modernization, capacity was reduced to 80,000 t/y, according to a Repsol official. In April we erected a new vacuum tower, and by 2017 we plan to produce hydrogenated Group I base oils in Cartagena too, Sanchez said.

Cartagenas Group III base oil supply will replace the imported volumes SKL shipped to Europe from South Korea and Indonesia. Primarily, it is designed for supply security of the European market, as the demand for synthetic products is expected to grow by 1.2 million tons between 2013 and 2023, Paul Kerwin, European sales manager for SK Lubricants Europe, said at the conference, quoting Kline & Co. data.

At least 60 percent of Repsols 30 percent share in the joint venture is meant for Spanish, Italian and French lubricant markets. The geographic position of the refinery, its auxiliary facilities such as newly build tank farm, as well as track filling stations and a jetty for land and sea shipments, provide an opportunity for both companies to deliver base oil in the Mediterranean basin, to SKLs Rotterdam storage facility and to Northern Europe.